R3: A Three-Pronged Model for Engineering Student Success

The College of Engineering Student Success Center at Tennessee Technological University has developed and implemented a three-pronged model for student success, R3: Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition. Since its inception, the Center has seen positive impacts on student success, including an 81% persistence rate from first to second year for first-year freshmen in the Center's advising program [1]; success stories from graduates of the Center's Ambassador program, such as an alumni who won the 2017 STEP Ahead Emerging Leader Award; and a robust outreach program that has impacted over 5,000 secondary students and community members. The R3 model reflects educational research and evidence-based practices. Research and practice suggest that a combination of efforts and supports are necessary to ensure student success for a broad number and variety of students [2], especially considering that every student will have a unique background and all students will "start from diverse places," thus needing different supports and finding engagement and motivation in different sources [3]. Furthermore, the supports within the R3 model use evidence-based practices, student success and retention research, and engineering education research [4]-[6]. Workshop facilitators will offer an interactive, hands-on session utilizing strategic planning and active learning techniques, such as small and large group discussion and hands-on demonstrations. The workshop is suited for attendees in different roles, including educators, student success professionals, and enrollment management professionals. The goal is to offer attendees strategies for recruitment, retention, and recognition in their own universities, recognizing that the strategies we have developed will need to be adapted for each campus's own "culture and goals" [7]. Facilitators will achieve this goal through discussion and activities related to recruitment, retention, and recognition strategies currently used by the Success Center and the General and Basic Engineering Department. Moreover, the facilitators will discuss "lessons learned" from formative assessment and program evaluation. When attendees leave, they should have the necessary tools to identify supports, networks, stakeholders, and resources to help develop recruitment, retention, and recognition strategies to fit their needs and goals. [1] Office of Institutional Research at Tennessee Technological University. [2] Jolly, E. J., Campbell, P. B., & Perlman, L. Engagement, Capacity and Continuity: A Trilogy for Student Success. GE Foundation, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.campbell-kibler.com/trilogy.pdf [3] Committee on Underrepresented Groups and the Expansion of the Science and Engineering Workforce Pipeline. Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu [4] Earl, W. R. "Intrusive Advising of Freshmen in Academic Difficulty." NACADA Journal, 1988. [5] Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. What Matters to Student Success: A Review of the Literature. National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, 2006. [6] American Society of Engineering Educators. Going the Distance. ASEE, 2012. Retrieved from https://www.asee.org/retention-project [7] Brownell, J. E., & Swaner, L. E.. "High-Impact Practices: Applying the Learning Outcomes Literature to the Development of Successful Campus Programs." Peer Review, 2009, 26-30.